this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 9am: the venezuelan president says he has survived an assassination attempt involving explosive drones during a live televised speech. dozens of soldiers were seen fleeing. nicolas maduro has blamed columbia for the attack translation: there has been an attempt to assassinate me. i have no doubt that this all points to the extreme right in venezuela, are lined with those in colombia. i have no doubt. adults in england will automatically become organ donors unless they opt out, under plans unveiled today. the government says it could save 700 lives a year. we walked her to theatre, i kissed herandl we walked her to theatre, i kissed herand i said, goal save we walked her to theatre, i kissed her and i said, goal save some lives. police investigating the disappearance of a midwife from staffordshire find a body and arrest three people. more than 700 firefighters battle

a major wildfire in portugal, as southern europe continues to swelter in near record temperatures. also this hour, the veteran entertainer barry chuckle, one half of the chuckle brothers, has died at the age of 73. his manager said that barry chuckle, seen here on the right, passed away peacefully at his home. his comedy partner and brother paul said he'd lost his very best friend. ireland's women's hockey team have made it to the world cup final, the first irish team, male or female in any sport, to reach a majorfinal. and our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35am. this morning's reviewers are claire cohen, women's editor at the daily telegraph, and the independent‘s economics editor ben chu. the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, believes an attempt

has been made on his life. officials said drones loaded with explosives were flown towards a military parade he was attending — they exploded, injuring seven national guards. the president, who was in the middle of a speech, was unharmed. shortly afterwards, he spoke of a right wing conspiracy against him, involving domestic enemies and neighbouring colombia. lebbo dissekko reports. president maduro is in the middle of his televised speech when this happened. the camera shakes, his wife looks up and then he does. the pictures then cut to soldiers at the event, who we see running. officials say two drones packed with explosives had been flown towards the parade and exploded, injuring seven soldiers. and in the aftermath have

come recriminations. the communications minister said the opposition was behind the attack. it's not hard to see why mr maduro might feel imbattled. police and anti—government activists clashed regularly, as protest continuing against what opponents say is mr maduro's increasingly authoritarian rule. the country has the largest oil reserves in the world but the economy is on its knees. hyperinflation and food shortages mean shelves are often bare and families go hungry. mr maduro says the current crisis is the result of a western plot to crush a socialist government and says the opposition is in on it. speaking after the attack, he claimed it was engineered by colombia and financed from florida. mr maduro says the current crisis is the result of a western plot so while his detractors both at home

and abroad may beg to differ, for mr maduro and his supporters, these latest events prove that they are the ones under attack. earlier, we spoke to juan diego casatro, an analyst with the peace and reconciliation foundation in the the colombian capital of bogota. we asked him what he made of president maduro accusing columbia of the attack. i think it's rather responsible for the president to claim that president santos had anything to do with that. given the relationship we had in the past. venezuela was one of the main countries that supported the peace accord. president santos, friend to say something like that, is rather irresponsible. there are plenty of radical right—wingers in

venezuela raider that could have made this attempt on nicolas maduro's life. to give an example, a student leader in 2014 was in columbia meeting with a number of party members of the former president. he protected him in multiple scenarios. he was deported back to venezuela because there were audio tapes of him planning out terrorist attacks against civilians. he has always claimed that the best way to get rid of nicolas maduro was to assassinate him. that was an a nalyst to assassinate him. that was an analyst with the peace and reconciliation foundation in columbia. the veteran entertainer barry chuckle, half of the comedy duo the chuckle brothers, has died aged 73. seen here on the left, barry chuckle, whose real

name was barry elliott, starred in chucklevision between 1987 and 2009. his manager said he died at home surrounded by his wife and family. his comedy partner and brother paul said he had lost his very best friend. england could have an opt—out system for organ donation within two years — under plans being published by the government today. a similar system has been in place in wales since 2015, and scotland also has plans to introduce a scheme. currently, less than 40% of adults are on the nhs donor register. catherine burns reports. she was always bubbly there, weren't she? hayley louisejordan's parents say she was always fun but liked to plan ahead, so she was in her 20s when she signed up to the nhs organ donor register. her family thought nothing of it. she's gorgeous there, ain't she?

yeah. but when hayley was 32, she had a brain haemorrhage. doctors pronounced her brain dead and asked her parents about donation. i didn't have no hesitation. we walked hayley to theatre, said goodbye and ijust kissed and said, "go save some lives, hayley." public support for organ donation is higher. it's thought about 80% support the idea, but only 37% have signed up to become donors. in reality, only a tiny number of deaths are suitable but the government thinks changing the system could generate hundreds of extra transplants a year. last year, just over 1,500 people donated organs after their death, and that is a record high, but still, there are just over 6,000 patients on waiting lists for transplants so, under the new system, all adults would automatically be considered as donors unless they actively opt out. scotland is planning to do this too and wales already has an opt—out system but critics say it's too early to say whether or not that is working yet. some claim a better idea would be to hire more specialist nurses to identify potential donors and work with their families. joining me now is jacob west,

director of health care innovation at the british heart foundation. thank you for being with us. what would you say about these proposed changes in england? we welcome the changes. we know there is a real shortage of organs available for transplant and a presumed consent system, and opt out system, we think would increase that number significantly. do you think this is overdue? this is something which has been spoken about for a long i think it's a proposal that needs to be taken seriously. the government has consulted on it and it has got a record number of responses. we are excited about this. it's not a pa na cea . excited about this. it's not a panacea. people need to have that conversation with their families so they know that their wishes are

respected. it's been in operation in wales. has it made a significant difference there? what we're seeing is the consent rate has increased significantly, it's over 70%, the highest in the uk. and actually more people are signing up to the register, that that nearly 40%. the publicity around the proposals seems to have had a halo effect. it's been said that up to 700 lives could be saved each year because of these changes if they are implemented. is that a forecast you would agree with? well, we do think it can have an effect. we don't know exactly how many it might save until put into practice. we know about three people die every day on the waiting list for transplants or have recently

been on it, so there is a huge potential to save lives. some people are opposed to this, off non—libertarian grounds. what would you say to those who are philosophical disagreements with this? i understand some people would not agree to this, but there is the opportunity to opt out of the system. there is also the opportunity to discuss this with nurses during end of life support. 0n nurses during end of life support. on balance, i would say this is a proposal we should be supporting. on balance, i would say this is a proposal we should be supportingm this common around the world? would we be blazing a trail? a number of other countries have introduced an t other countries have introduced an opt out system of different kinds. spain intojust one in opt out system of different kinds. spain into just one in the late 19705. spain into just one in the late 1970s. more recently, croatia and belgium. wales have introduced a system and scotland are planning on doing so. i suspect the overall trend is towards a system of some kind. 80 or 90% of our research

shows that about three quarters of people support some kind of opt out system, so this is something that the public wants. thank you for your time. detectives investigating the disappearance of a missing midwife in staffordshire have begun a murder investigation. police searching for 28—year—old samantha eastwood found a body near stoke yesterday. a 32—year—old man, who was detained last sunday, has been re—arrested on suspicion of murder, while two other men are being held on suspicion of assisting an offender. the body is yet to be formally identified. let's talk to our reporter in stoke on trent, simon ward. simon, obviously various developments. what is the latest? while there has been no formal identification of the body, this is what people feared the most. 0fficers what people feared the most. officers who were searching for samantha eastwood made the discovery further up this lane in this rural pa rt further up this lane in this rural part of staffordshire. the last time she was seen was on friday 27july

when she was leaving royal stock hospital where she was a midwife. later that day, staff raised the alarm when she did not turn up for a late shift. police have been investigating her disobedience since then. 0n the day she disappeared, some of her neighbours reported they heard a scream that afternoon. and just on friday her sister gemma made a further emotional public appeal for information, as she said samantha was warm and generous with a great sense of humour. earlier on this week, a 32—year—old man was arrested. he was then released. he has been rearrested, this time on suspicion of murder. two other men have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. the police have thanked the public for all the information so far and have appealed

for any witnesses to come forward with further information. tell us about the area you are in. this is between seven and ten miles away from stoke—on—trent. a rural area with sheep in the fields. this is a small lane which is closed. the localfarmer small lane which is closed. the local farmer recently told the bbc he had seen police activity in a quarry nearby. it's not been officially confirmed the body was found ina officially confirmed the body was found in a quarry but certainly in this rural part of staffordshire they have made this discovery. three men are in custody and this the headlines on bbc news: venezuela's president says he has survived an assassination attempt investigation continues. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: venezuela's president says he has

survived an assassination attempt involving explosive drones. several soldiers were injured. plans to make everyone in england a potential organ donor — unless they decide to opt out — will be set out by the government today. and veteran child ren's entertainer, barry chuckle — one half of the chuckle brothers seen here on the left — has died at the age of 73. the international trade secretary, liam fox, has said he now thinks it's more likely than not that britain will leave the eu without a deal next march. in an interview with the sunday times, mr fox accused the european commission of being so intransigent that the odds of there being no brexit deal were now 60—40. 0ur political correspondent, tom barton, is in westminster. very interesting comments? absolutely. colourful language from liam fox in the sunday times this morning. saying, he thinks, we are heading towards an ordeal scenario.

he puts the blame for this very squarely at the hands of the european commissioner and their chief negotiator michel barnier, calling the commission intransigent. pa rlourmaid calling the commission intransigent. parlourmaid —— while the language might be strong, this is to some extent might be strong, this is to some exte nt o n might be strong, this is to some extent on message with the government's broader point. jeremy hunt has been in france and germany this week saying the chance of an ordeal by accident is increasing every day. that strategy really is about persuading european leaders that no deal, if it were to happen, would be bad for them as much as it would be bad for them as much as it would be bad for them as much as it would be for britain. liam fox today tells the sunday times that if that message is resonating around europe then that means that britain's negotiating position is getting stronger. let's talk about the labour party because there are wars in terms of the continuing row over

anti—semitism continue today? in terms of the continuing row over anti-semitism continue today? that's right. the deputy leader of the labour party, tom watson, today in an interview with the observer newspaper said that the arguments over anti—semitism are in danger of rendering the party unfit for government, saying labour risks disappearing into a vortex of internal shame and embarrassment on the issue. he says the party was wrong to either change or remove four definitions of —— or examples i should say of what constitutes anti—semitic behaviour when they we re anti—semitic behaviour when they were incorporating the internationally recognised definition of anti—semitism into the code of ethics. the labour leadership say all they have done is expand and contextualise those examples, and the point out they have reopened a consultation into

the code of conduct. butjust yesterdayjeremy corbyn wrote an article for the guardian newspaper in which he attempted to reassure the jewish community they promised to root out anti—semitism from the party. many people will see the comments from tom watson as an attempt to undermine jeremy comments from tom watson as an attempt to underminejeremy corbyn. there is no doubt that the pressure on him will continue to grow. thank you. portuguese firefighters in the algarve are struggling to bring wildfires under control, as the southern european heatwave continues. temperatures have climbed to 46 degrees celsius, approaching the all—time european record. fire warnings have been issued across the iberian peninsula, as chi chi izundu reports. portugal — the latest country battling wildfire. some 700 firefighters are still tried to stop flames taking further hold of a eucalyptus forest near the town of monchique in the algarve. water—dropping aircraft have been assisting them as well as over 100 fire trucks. already, more than 1,000 hectares of land has been destroyed and one

village has been forced to evacuate. how far were the flames? it was about 500 metres from our kitchen. the terrain is difficult to access and conditions have been tough. high winds, dry land and record temperatures. this weekend, seeing more than 45 degrees. it's so hot, people are opting to stay in. but it's not just portugal suffering. a continent—wide heatwave in recent weeks has seen deaths in spain, droughts and wildfires from greece to sweden. several thousand homes are without water in nottinghamshire this morning after a major pipe burst. it happened in the village of epperstone but is affecting large parts of the eastern side of the county. severn trent water says it's one of its biggest mains, meaning people may have no supply or low pressure. tankers are bringing in extra water and bottled water is being delivered. the nhs has been threatened

with legal action if it does not offer fertility services to transgender patients before they start treatment. the drugs and hormones prescribed to patients can cause infertility, and the equality and human rights commission says patients should be able to store their eggs or sperm. an nhs spokesperson said the criticism is misplaced and policy responsibility lies with ministers. there were chaotic scenes in brighton last night after police prevented crowds of people attending the city's pride event from entering the railway station. thousands of people trying to leave the parade and a britney spears concert were held on the street after gates outside the station were padlocked. a spokesman for govia thameslink said they acted under police advice and train services were resumed in the early hours of this morning. a new outbreak of the ebola virus in the east of the democratic republic

of congo is thought to have killed more than 30 people. the area — near the ugandan border — includes a trading hub and crowded refugee camps, making the outbreak difficult to control if it takes hold. sporadic protests have continued for the fifth successive day in several iranian cities despite heavy security measures and riot police presence. videos of the protests have been shared on social media. the fars news agency says one protester was shot dead and at least 20 have been detained. the us first lady, melania trump, has expressed her support for the basketball star lebronjames, hours after her husband made insulting remarks about him on twitter. the player had said in an interview that mr trump was divisive and had emboldened racists. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler has more. lebron james is without any doubt one of the biggest

stars in american sports. when he recently signed for the la lakers, it made the headlines, but he's found himself in the news again because of his criticism of donald trump. on cnn, he accused the president of using sport to split the us apart, and it's not the first time he's spoken out against mr trump. i'm not going to let — while i have this platform — to let one individual, no matter the power, no matter the impact that he should have, or she should have, ever use sport as a platform to divide us. in an angry tweet, donald trump fired back at both the basketball star and the news network, saying: but lebron james has a surprising ally

in this latest fight — mr trump's own wife. a statement by the first lady's spokeswoman said melania trump was impressed by lebronjames‘ work to do good things on behalf of the next generation. he has just opened a new school for at—risk students in his home—town in ohio. mrs trump made clear that she was open to the idea of going to visit it. i love you too, man, i really do. that's a sign of support from lebronjames, even as he feuds with her husband. the russian foreign ministry says it has appointed the american actor steven seagal as a special envoy for humanitarian ties with the united states. he was granted russian citizenship in 2016 and has previously praised president putin's policies. the ministry said his new role is to help deepen cultural, art and youth ties between the two countries. as we've been hearing, barry chuckle,

one half of the comedy duo the chuckle brothers, has died at the age of 73. the veteran entertainer passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family. our correspondent jenny kumah is here. tell us more about him. barry elliot was born in rotherham. he and his brother first started their comedy career on opportunity knocks and new faces. the most famous further programme chucklevision which was on the bbc between 1987 and 2009. it one host of awards. recently, they appeared ina one host of awards. recently, they appeared in a channel five programme which was like you've been framed.

clips of funny moments. there's been a statement from his manager? clips of funny moments. there's been a statement from his manager7m clips of funny moments. there's been a statement from his manager? in a statement, his manager says it is with great sadness that barry passed away surrounded by his family. they would like to express their thanks to the many people have been fans of the chuckle brothers. there has also been a statement from his comedy partner for 50 years, been a statement from his comedy partnerfor 50 years, his brother paul. he says, i've notjust lost my brother, i've lost my theatrical partner for many years and my very best friend. thank you. the dissident chinese artist ai weiwei says the authorities in beijing have demolished his studio there. in a series of clips on instagram showing the former factory being torn down, ai says he was given no notice of the decision. the 66—year—old has lived in germany since leaving china in 2015. he is a strong critic of china's government. as the walls of his studio were torn

down, ai weiwei said farewell. a post on social media explaining that the space where he created and kept some of his most iconic work was being destroyed. workers boxed up what the code, but itjust wasn't possible to move everything before the demolition started. they knew they had to leave by the 15th of this month. police had come to an end. what they had not expected was the wrecking machines. translation:. someone called me and said we had three days to move out the building. i don't have the ability to move everything out in three days. 0utside our remnants of works over the years left where it had been standing, in the place ai weiwei had

used for 12 years. it's not the first time this has happened. another one of his studios in shanghai was destroyed in 2011. that time as well he said he had had no warning. ai weiwei was a favourite of the chinese government but has since become an outspoken critic and some would say has paid the price. in 2011, he was detained for 81 days on charges he says were politically motivated. he has since moved to berlin. it is not clear if the destruction was targeting ai weiwei directly. authorities have been demolishing buildings in this area for months. but many will be asking why his studio and why now. a family in mexico got a bit closer to nature than they expected on a trip to a drive—through safari park. footage shot by another visitor to the park shows a male

rhino chasing and then ramming the door of an suv, it then goes on to try to overturn the vehicle. a spokesman for the park said the aggression was an isolated case caused by the presence of a female rhino nearby. no—one in the car was hurt and the family even told a local journalist that the incident was a good experience that they will never forget. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. most of us will continue with the dry weather today. quite a glorious start to the day in wales. this shows the early morning sunrise. an era of cloud over wales and west in england will continue to

fade. temperatures near normalfor scotla nd fade. temperatures near normalfor scotland and northern ireland when it stays cloudy. some spots of rain for the western and northern alves through the rest of the day. this evening and overnight, heavy rain for western scotland. wet weather sinking southwards through northern ireland. dry night for england and wales, but quite a warm one. temperatures in london only slowly easing back to around 16 degrees or so. easing back to around 16 degrees or so. the week ahead starts off hot and sunny, but turning more u nsettled and sunny, but turning more unsettled with grey and cooler weather later in the week. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the president of venezuela says an attempt has been made on his life using drones carrying explosives. it happened during a live televised speech in the capital caracas. the president has blamed columbia. the government is publishing its plans to change organ donation in england to an "opt—out" system from 2020. at present, donors have to sign up to the nhs register three men remain in custody after a body was discovered in a field near stoke—on—trent by police searching for the missing midwife, samantha eastwood. more than 700 firefighters battle a major wildfire in portugal, as southern europe continues to swelter in near record temperatures. veteran children's entertainer, barry chuckle, one half of the chuckle brothers, has died at the age of 73. his comedy partner and brother paul said he'd lost his very best friend. before the papers, sport

and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. good morning. what a performance from ireland's women who reached the hockey world cup final. the tournament's second lowest ranked side, who've had to raise money in the past to fund their matches, will face the netherlands in the final later after beating spain in a penalty shootout in the semis. jo currie was watching. ireland's unlikely heroes, their women's hockey team the first irish team male or female to make a world final in any sport. their semifinal against spain was already uncharted territory and they could have been forgiven for letting nerves get the better of them.